Harry Potter and the Chimera's Sting
by Kalistar
Summary: Xover wDark Angel, Harry Potter as the wizarding world knew him never existed. In his place was X5701, a soldier of Manticore. After discovering the existence of Voldemort, Harry is thrown into a war that will determine the fate of wizards and muggles
1. The Beginning

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Dark Angel

**A/N: Just as way of friendly warning, to anyone who has read my other stories, Albus Dumbledore has always been put in a bad light. For a change he will not be an evil, power hungry, stealing wizard bent on world domination in this story.**

**Summary: AU Crossover w/Dark Angel, Harry Potter as the wizarding world knew him never existed. In his place was X5-701, a soldier of Manticore. After discovering the existence of the Death Eaters and the Breeding Cult, Harry is thrown into a war that will determine the future of both the wizarding and muggle worlds. **

**Chapter 1: All things have a beginning**

**July 31st, 1990**

_**Wyoming, USA**_

James and Lily Potter were nervous. They were about to pick up their child. Both were young, in their early twenties. James stood a little over 6' with messy black hair and brown eyes. He was handsome dressed in black pants and a red button down shirt. Lily had shoulder length dark red hair with deep green eyes. Her skin was pale but she carried herself with confidence.

This was only their second trip to the United States. The first time had been 10 months ago. Both Lily and James wanted children but right now, in the UK there was a war going on the wizarding world. Rather than sit on the sidelines as most of their world was doing, the young couple had chosen to fight and joined the Order of the Phoenix, a resistance group led by Albus Dumbledore. Their foe was a dark wizard named Voldemort and his followers the Death Eaters. Given the danger they were in, James wanted to have a child early so that the Potter name would continue in case something should happen to them. But the fight was too important though, it would be dangerous for Lily to go through her pregnancy during the war and she was needed by the Order.

James had almost given up on the idea until Lily remembered hearing about a new program in the United States. They were looking for donations of genetic material that was being used for ground breaking in vitro fertilization research. Nothing to lose, they had taken a week and gone to the United States.

While there, the couple met with a man named Donald Lydecker, a Colonel with US military. He was in charge of the program. He explained the procedure to them, that surrogate mothers could be used if Lily wasn't in a position to carry the baby. He also stressed the importance that he be made aware of anything that could impact the baby and reluctantly James and Lily told him of the wizarding world, such was their desire to have a child.

His face a mask of indifference, inwardly Lydecker was reeling from the revelations given by James and Lily Potter. Of course he had demanded a demonstration; he couldn't risk Manticore being polluted with weak genes and was astounded at the feats they performed for him. There was no doubt in his mind that he would accept them, adding the genes that allowed a child to perform magic would be an incredible advantage to his soldiers.

The decision was made quickly to allow James and Lily into the program. It was explained to them that they would have custody of the child for the first four years. After that, the child would receive special schooling for ten months of the year, the remainder of which could be spent with them. While they weren't entirely happy with the arrangement, both agreed that it was the best they could hope for since there were no options for them in the wizarding world.

It had taken Lydecker's team close to two months to isolate the genes that were likely responsible for allowing a person to perform magic. It was incorporated, along with cat DNA and other changes into all the future X5 embryos. Based on what he had learned from James and Lily, Manticore would need to acquire the services of a few wizards for training once the X5s were old enough. There was time to work that out later.

Now here they were 11 months later, James and Lily had returned for their child. Normally, Lydecker would not have allowed someone to take one of his X5s like this, but it was worth it. Plus, there was little to be done with them until they were 4 years old anywhere, they simply weren't developed enough, even with the additions to their DNA. The human body just wasn't mature enough prior to that age to begin indoctrination and training.

"James, Lily it's good to see you again." Donald said pleasantly. Reaching out, he shook both their hands. "Are you ready to greet you son?"

James beamed, they had not been told the sex of the child only that it had taken sometime before there was a successful implantation, whatever that meant. "Lord yes, you have no idea what this means to us."

A rather nondescript man walked out carrying a small baby wrapped in a sterile looking white blanket. Only his head was visible, Lily eagerly reached out to hold her new son. She melted when he opened his eyes and she saw bright green eyes just like hers. He even had a little bit of black hair though it was too early to say if it would be perpetually messy the way James' was.

While Lily was falling in love with their son, James and Donald were going over paperwork and provisions for the baby's care. "James, this is a non-disclosure agreement it basically says that if you tell anybody about Manticore and the work we do that we have the legal right to take custody of your son." Donald held up his hand to stop James before even opened his mouth "The technology we used to do this is very advanced and other countries and companies would love to get their hands on it, which is the reason for such a harsh penalty."

James thought about it for a moment and realized it wasn't that big of risk. There was no reason for them to tell any of their friends what they had done. They had already come up with a story to tell their friends so he signed his name to the agreement.

Donald slid the paperwork away and pulled out another batch of paperwork. "Ok, I'm a little surprised your wife hasn't noticed yet but there are a couple of things that I need to explain to you about your son." This was the trickiest part of the setup. Lydecker had come up with a cover for the barcode and tracking device. Hopefully, they would buy his story, since they seemed to have so little knowledge of how things worked outside of the wizarding world they may be naïve enough. "Because this procedure is so new, we are giving you a list of symptoms to be on the lookout for. If any of them appear you must contact us immediately. To help we implanted a small transmitter that will continually monitor your son's health." In reality, it was a hardened transmitter that would allow Manticore to track his location. The technicians were hoping that by using a hardened transmitter designed to work even after an EMP it would function in a magical environment.

Just as Lydecker was about to explain the last bit Lily asked "What's this on the back of his neck?"

James and Lydecker moved over to see what she was pointing at. To James, it looked like a bizarre series of black lines of varying width. Lily recognized it. It was a black bar code that appeared to be tattooed onto him. Lydecker cleared his throat "Yes about that, during the fertilization process it is necessary to keep accurate track of each embryo. The most effective way of doing that was to add that barcode into his gene sequence. It is unique to each embryo and can't be changed since it is part of their genetic structure."

Lily was about to retort but changed her mind. Obviously, there was little she could do about it now even if it did seem a little barbaric. "I guess it doesn't matter. We can always put a charm over it so people can't see it."

There were a few more things that Lydecker explained to them and reiterated their agreement one final time before allowing the couple to leave with X5-3928777694-701 or simply X5-701.

As soon as James and Lily left with X5-701, Donald gave orders to two agents that were part of the Manticore military detail. They were going to be living in the UK for the next few years to ensure that the Potters lived up to their end of the agreement.

And so James and Lily returned to Godric's Hollow excited to present their new son Harry James Potter to the wizarding world.

**November 14th, 1991**

**_Little Whining, Surrey, UK_**

It was just over two weeks since James and Lily Potter had been killed at the hands of Lord Voldemort. In his moment of victory, Voldemort sought to destroy the one prophesized to be his downfall, their son, Harry Potter. That moment of victory turned to ashes as the killing curse rebounded from Harry leaving him with only a scar and destroying Voldemort's body.

With his parents dead and his god father, Sirius Black, responsible for their betrayal; Albus Dumbledore was left with few options for placement of Harry. It was his sincere desire that the child be allowed to grow up without the awe and adulation of the wizarding world dogging his every step. The boy had already done so much for the wizarding world and it was his belief that Harry would be forced to do it again when Voldemort returned. Hopefully Lily's sister would be able to move beyond her problems with Lily and the wizarding world to raise Harry with love.

Thus, Harry was left for the Dursleys to find on their doorstep. Out of duty and nothing more, Petunia reluctantly accepted the boy into her home but she refused to show him the slightest affection. It was shortly after 10am in the morning when someone knocked on the door. Opening the door she saw two men standing there. At first she thought they might be wizards but they appeared entirely normal to her. They were dressed in dark suits and long black trench coats. "Yes, can I help you?"

"Petunia Dursley?" The ash-blond haired man asked.

"Yes, I'm Petunia Dursley, who are you?" She asked again not moving from the door and making no effort to invite them in.

"My name is Donald Lydecker and I've come for your nephew. Perhaps it would better if we talk about this inside."

Petunia's hopes soared; someone wanted to take the boy. She wouldn't have to worry about his freakishness anymore. Wordlessly she opened the door wider and let the two men inside. Once inside, she directed them to the living room. "How do you know about my nephew?"

"Mrs. Dursley, unfortunately I can't explain everything but I was given legal custody of your nephew if something ever happened to your sister and her husband." He opened the briefcase and pulled out a series of documents that he handed over to Petunia.

She took some time going over everything and reading fully. It was true; this man had custody of the boy. There was nothing any of those other freaks could say about it. She was almost tempted to warn him but then he might not want to take the boy and she would be stuck with him. "Everything seems to be in order, let me get him for you."

Lydecker was thrilled at his luck. The prissy woman wasn't even going to put up a fight. "Thank you, we do have a flight to catch." Luckily when James and Lily had missed their monthly check with him, his agents had found the boy in the care of his aunt through the tracking unit that had been implanted. The tracker had worked better than he expected.

Petunia stood and hurried to the other room where she was keeping both the boy and her own son. The boy was held loosely in her arms when she returned to the room and gratefully handed him over to Lydecker. He smiled down at the boy, now 701 would be back where he belonged back at Manticore. The scar bothered him, it would have to be removed it was too recognizable a characteristic. The X5s had been designed to be aesthetically pleasing to the eye but scar would make 701 stand out too much. It would be a simple matter for the surgeons to remove. While he had a moment of sadness for the deaths of James and Lily, it would make things much easier this way.

**September 1st, 1999**

_**Manticore Base, WY US**_

X5-701 was standing at attention, his back ramrod straight, his eyes looking straight ahead never wavering, and his expression flat. Standing next to him was his another member of his unit. He had hazel eyes and short light brown hair. Like X5-701, he was standing at attention waiting for their commander to speak.

Colonel Donald Lydecker was sitting behind his desk observing two of his best 'kids.' Of all the X5s, they were the only two to exhibit signs of magic. In the other X5s the gene appeared to be recessive so it was not expressed. Despite the repeated genetic assays and tests run on the two, his scientists had yet to determine what it was that had made the gene dominant in them. Putting aside the 'magic' element, the two deserved to be in the top unit but because X5-494's twin was in that unit, he had both placed in the second unit. The pair had formed a cohesive group with the rest of their unit but it was evident to all the trainers that when they worked together, they were truly magnificent. They knew the other's patterns, strengths and weaknesses and were virtually perfect complements to each other.

Lydecker already had plans for them. Each unit was designed for different activities. Both 701 & 494 were designed for stealth operations. Together, they were going to make the perfect assassins.

He was pleased to note that after almost five minutes of waiting, neither boy moved, made a sound, or even looked around. "701, 494 do you know why I've called you here today?"

"No sir!" Both boys answered in loud clear voices.

"You both will be receiving special training starting next week. It will be in the evenings once you unit training is complete for the day. Are there any questions so far?"

494 spoke up "Sir, why are just the two us receiving training and not our unit?"

"Because you both have a unique genetic characteristic that has not been expressed in the other X5s. Consequently, you will require special training. The nature of your training is considered classified and therefore is not to be shared with your unit or any of the X units. Do you understand?"

"Sir yes sir!" They responded forcefully.

Lydecker studied them for another moment before nodding and stating "Dismissed."

The pair never relaxed. As one, they turned on their heels and exited his office leaving Lydecker to his plans. It had taken him years to find the right people for this. The wizarding…Lydecker snorted at the idiotic name, the wizarding world was paranoid to the extreme. In the end though, money still talked enough to bring even the most paranoid out into the open.

The first to take the bait was a witch named Elena, it didn't take long to realize that she was on the run from something and desperate. Elena would have been useless as a trainer for his 'kids' but she was still useful before he had her disposed of. While magic would provide a definite edge, Manticore needed a defense should it ever be used against them. Elena had become their first test subject. In the three years she had been held captive, Manticore's scientists had tested numerous chemical compounds to dampen her magical ability. A few compounds had proven promising but they were still under development to refine and strengthen the potency.

The second and third were wizards. Neither had lasted long but one of the men gave Lydecker a method to contact someone he called a hit wizard. By the sounds of it, they were magical bounty hunters. The scientists had developed a more permanent solution. A retrovirus was developed that attacked the gene sequence they suspected was responsible for performing magic. Within a matter of days, both men were dead. However, the retrovirus was incredibly contagious and would spread rapidly, making it virtually impossible to control. The scientists were working on a way to target specific individuals by targeting specific portions of their DNA, thereby making the retrovirus deadly only to the designated targets.

More wizards and witches showed up over the years before Lydecker finally found a hit wizard that would be suitable for training the two boys. Luckily for him, Lydecker needed him or the man would have ended as a test subject like the others. Still, once the boys were trained, the man would be eliminated. Knowledge of Manticore could not be allowed to escape. In the end, he would have silenced James and Lily Potter but someone had taken care of that for him.

**July 31st, 2001**

_**Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry, UK**_

An alarm started to ring in the Headmaster's office. It's occupant looked up worriedly from the documents he had been reading detailing lesson plans for the upcoming school year starting in September. Quickly standing and moving over to one of the many shelves lining the walls of his office, he pulled down a strange silver device that appeared to be a replica of a typical muggle suburban home. He stared at the device sitting in his hand for long seconds before he realized the significance of the alarm. The blood wards at Harry Potter's home had fallen.

Without further delay, Albus Dumbledore Headmaster of Hogwarts gathered two of his best professors, Minerva McGonagall and Filius Flitwick to investigate the situation with him. Using a specially made portkey that allowed them to bypass the wards of Hogwarts, the three professors disappeared from the school to reappear at the edge of Privet Drive in Little Whining.

Each had their wands drawn prepared for the worst, but there was no sign of any danger or threats. Albus had been half expecting to see the dark mark floating in the sky above the quiet street but there was nothing. Everything was quiet and peaceful. Confused now, Albus led the other two professors over to #4 and knocked on the door. The time was late but there were still lights on in the house so presumably the Dursleys were not asleep.

A large whale of a man with short brown graying hair and a bristly mustache answered the door. Even before he said anything, a screeching voice called out "Vernon who is it?"

Vernon had turned his head in the direction of the voice and only now turned to look at the visitors. A scowl quickly formed when he took in their clothes and general appearance. "A bunch of freaks like your sister and her husband!" He called out.

Albus frowned but pressed forward "Vernon Dursley, can we come in? I believe there is a situation we need to discuss." Though the words were reasonable, the tone they were delivered with was anything but. Albus may portray a grandfatherly image but when he wanted to, the most powerful wizard of his generation could make a very forceful impression.

Vernon was normally all bluster but there was something about these three that got under his skin. He managed to hold up to Albus' stare for close to 30 seconds before he finally gave in. With a quiet grumble, he swung the door open wider to admit the trio. After closing the door he led them to the living room where Petunia was reading a novel. The walls of the room were adorned with family portraits, many of which featured a rather large blond haired boy that appeared to be roughly the same age as Harry Potter.

Petunia didn't bother to greet any of their guests. She simply placed her book on her lap and glared at the three of them. "Well, what do you want, it is late after all and decent people wouldn't be calling this late?"

Since they were not offered seats, Albus waved his wand and conjured three comfortable chairs for them to sit on. "We have come to check on the health of Harry Potter. The protections I placed over your home to keep both you and Harry safe have fallen."

Petunia almost laughed in the old man's face but thought better of it. For close to ten years now, these people had thought her freak of a nephew was living with them. No wonder her sister and her husband had gotten themselves killed, there was no common sense in that world. "He hasn't lived here since about two weeks after you dumped him on our doorstep."

Minerva lost control and snapped in horror at the woman "You abandoned your own nephew, the savior of our world? Don't you care about your family at all?"

"Of course I love my family, but that freak and his mother were not part of my family. To answer your first question, I did not abandon him, I gave him to his rightful guardians. It's not my fault if they chose not to communicate with you."

Minerva's and Filius' head whipped over to look at Albus who had paled. Harry Potter could very likely have been raised by supporters of Voldemort. All he had wanted for the child was a normal childhood, one away from the pressure and fame sure to follow him in the wizarding world and now he may have doomed him. "What do you mean his rightful guardians? You're his only living family."

Petunia's face turned an ugly shade at being described as family to that freak. "That may be…" she admitted reluctantly "However, that doesn't mean we were the boy's legal guardians. Two men came to our home a couple of weeks after you gave us the boy. They had all the documentation and information signed by both my sister and that husband of hers giving them custody in the event that something should happen to them. It was a dream come true so I made sure to read everything very carefully. I didn't want them bringing him back when they found out about his freakishness."

"Albus do you think it was Death Eaters in disguise?" Minerva asked concerned about the boy's welfare.

Filius answered for the wizened old man. "Minerva how many pure bloods do you know that could successfully impersonate a muggle? Besides, why would they bother, they would simply have killed Harry or if they wanted him alive, taken him by force. There is little reason to suspect that the men were anything but legitimate."

"You may be right Filius, but I never intended for Harry to lose his heritage. What if these men keep him from coming to Hogwarts? We must at least speak with him to make sure he is aware of his options."

"How would you suggest we find him?" Minerva asked acerbically.

"Well that is the easiest thing of all, we use his Hogwarts letter." Albus said before standing and turning once more to Petunia. "We will take our leave of you, but I hope that one day you realize what you have given up by hating your nephew."

There was nothing said by anyone else and so the wizards once more grabbed onto the portkey and disappeared back to Hogwarts. While neither Minerva nor Filius were needed anymore both were too curious about Harry's whereabouts to return to their quarters just yet. Unfortunately, they would end up going to bed disappointed. Harry Potter's letter had never been delivered, the address was unknown. Albus even tried casting a locator spell but he was unable to get any trace of the young boy.

"Albus do you think he's alive?" Minerva asked her face pale once again with fear that Harry Potter may truly be dead.

Albus gave it some thought before shaking his head "If he was dead, I believe the blood wards would have fallen before his 11th birthday. They only fell now because they have never been renewed. No he must not be in the country. We can only hope for the best now."

Alone in his suite of rooms, Albus was left to his thoughts. Voldemort was still out there and now Harry was without the protection left him by his mother's sacrifice. Wherever he was Harry would need training in order to survive because it was unlikely that Voldemort would allow him to live in peace. Sometimes fate could be cruel, it took Harry's parents away and now had forced him to shoulder the responsibility for facing Voldemort. However, if Albus had his way, Harry would not be facing that battle alone.

**July 1st, 2006**

_**Manticore Base, WY US**_

Lydecker was very pleased with the results he had seen so far from 701 and 494. Their training had gone as expected. He had hoped that they would be able to figure out a way to avoid using a wand but as of yet, they had not been successful. However, given the size factor it wasn't an encumbrance but he had concerns about relying on something so fragile for the success of a mission. Unless something could be worked out, magic would always remain the fallback tool.

Both had been on short missions to gather intelligence and eliminate designated threats. They had received glowing field reports, in particular they showed no hesitation when asked to terminate their target. It didn't come as too much of a surprise, both had been put through extensive mental conditioning in psy-ops.

After the breakout in '91, Lydecker had cracked down on the remaining X5s. They had all gone through reconditioning with psy-ops to ensure their loyalty to Manticore. 701 and 494 in particular had spent an extra 6 months in psy-ops given the nature of their talents. Magic afforded them with unique abilities that could be used to escape, so every effort was made to break their wills.

The door to his office opened and his two star soldiers walked into the office. Both were dressed identically in a grey t-shirt and blue camouflage pants with heavy black leather boots. "Reporting as ordered sir!"

Lydecker handed each boy a file folder filled with information on their mission. It was to be their first long term deep cover assignment. "You are being deployed for a long term mission in the UK."

"Sir?" 701 asked surprised. They had never been sent out of the country before.

"Yes 701, the UK. You're handlers will be posing as your guardians."

"What is the nature of our mission?"

"Initially, it is intelligence gathering. We have gotten word of a long term eugenics experiment that has been carried out across the world for generations by a group we have named the Breeding Cult. The enclave in the UK is the first we have found. For now, you will observe their movements and if possible infiltrate their facilities to obtain genetic samples. You're handlers have all the details. While on this mission, 701 you will go by the name Harry James Potter and 494 you will go by Alec McDowell. See your handlers, they will answer any other questions you have and assist with the equipment load out."

"Yes sir!"

It took only a few moments for the pair to find their handlers. They were scheduled to leave in two days. Their destination was Edinburgh where they would be enrolled in a local secondary school so they wouldn't attract attention. More than a hour passed before 701 and 494 were allowed to return to their quarters to get ready.

At first, the two worked together in their unit and that was it. Manticore frowned on any sort of relationships between the soldiers. Later they began to grow closer when they realized they shared something that none of the other X5s did. Wisely, they continued to keep their growing friendship a secret from the trainers and officers of Manticore. But the bond was solidified when they spent a year in psy-ops for something they never even considered doing. During that time, they developed a sort of sign language so they could talk without risking being overheard by any of the guards.

'What do you think?' 701 asked. Even with the sign language they only used their names when outside of Manticore.

'There's something about this cult that they aren't telling us.' 494 replied.

'I agree, why bother with intel, just send in a couple of units and take what they want?'

'We have to be careful with this one. Lydecker may consider us special but that won't stop him from sacrificing us if he has to.'

494 was right, Lydecker might regret it but it wouldn't stop him from sacrificing any of the X5s to achieve some aim. It was also why they had never considered trying to escape, more than any of the other X5s, Lydecker would use every resource to hunt them down.

'Alec…we might have to consider running if things go sideways.'

The use of his name more than anything else told Alec how serious Harry was. He just nodded his head once in agreement. Whatever was coming, he would face it with his brother. Manticore had done one thing for them both, it had made them better, faster, stronger than ordinaries and it taught them to kill.

Both boys vowed to do whatever was necessary to see the other remained alive because they would never be safe.

Two days later, Harry and Alec were in a jet on their way to Scotland, their handlers were already there establishing fake identities and putting everything into place for their arrival.

**July 5th, 2006**

_**Washington DC, US**_

It was early in the morning. Ames White had yet to leave for the office. His wife was sitting at the kitchen table sipping on a cup of coffee and his five year old son was running around underfoot. As always, Ames was dressed in a perfectly pressed black suit with a white shirt and dark blue tie. Physically he wasn't very imposing standing at 5'9 but his attitude made up for it. Ames White exuded a sense of menace that could chill a room.

He had just grabbed his briefcase ready to head out the door when his cell phone rang. After glancing at the caller id, he gave his wife a quick kiss goodbye and stepped outside before answering "Fenest'ol" he greeted formally.

The voice on the other end replied with the same greeting before beginning. "Our enclave in Scotland has been compromised."

"So move the operation." Ames suggested reasonably.

"No, the Conclave has decided that you will go and oversee security for the time being."

"Why would the Conclave send me after the amount of time it took to get into position within the FBI?" Ames knew he was drawing close to the line with his question, one didn't question the decisions of the Conclave if you wanted to live.

"Our spies in Manticore have told us that X5-494 and X5-701 have been sent to assess the situation. This is our opportunity to eliminate the threat they represent to our plans. You will received further orders upon arrival in Scotland. Fenest'ol."

Just hearing the designations was enough to turn Ames' stomach. Mixing animal and human DNA to breed a better soldier was disgusting. All the products of Manticore were freaks, nothing more than filth that needed to be cleansed from the Earth.


	2. Predators

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Dark Angel

**Chapter 2: Predators**

**July 19th, 2006**

_**Edinburgh, Scotland UK**_

Harry was bored. They had been in Edinburgh for just over two weeks now with little to show for it. The location of the enclave for the Breeding Cult was known before they ever left Wyoming. Other than that, Harry and Alec had learned nothing from their observations of the people moving in and around the area. Their handlers, growing impatient with the situation, ordered them to infiltrate the facility and gather what intelligence they could.

The pair spent another day planning. Despite what their handlers wanted, they would not proceed without at least something of a plan. Most of the structure seemed to be underground but the portion that was above ground seemed to be mostly unguarded save for the main entrance. There was a pair of skylights on the roof that should allow access. Once inside they would split up, Alec was going to find a computer if there was one and download everything he could find. Harry would investigate the lower levels to see what else he could find.

Moving silently, the two ran across the roofs of neighboring buildings, avoiding the street level to lower the chance of being spotted. Harry was in the lead, he sped up and began running so fast he would appear as nothing more than a blur to a normal human. Without hesitation, he leaped into the air vaulting over the fifteen feet of space between the building and the enclave structure. When his feet touched the roof, his knees bent and he rolled forward into a crouch, a silenced 9mm Glock in his hand. After scanning the rooftop for any threats, he signaled the 'all-clear' to Alec who soon joined him.

Alec moved forward to the nearest skylight and pulled out a set of lock-picking tools. Moving with inhuman speed Alec had the lock open in seconds and was lowering a pair of ropes that Harry had secured. Not speaking, Harry signaled that he would go first. Alec nodded reluctantly but watched as Harry lowered himself into the dark room.

Both wore pitch black army fatigues with black face paint smudged on their face. Black fingerless gloves covered their hands and soft soled black shoes completed the outfit. Once Harry was in the room, Alec allowed his pupils to expand enhancing his night vision so that he could track Harry's movements. He watched tensely as his partner secured the room before signaling for Alec to follow.

Moving silently they left the room and checked out the rest of the floor. There was nothing there. No furniture, no signs of anyone occupying the floor at all. It was obviously not in use. The stairway was old and the pair took special care not to make any sound as the descended to the main floor. Luck was with them because the stairway took them to the rear of the main floor away from the street entrance.

Alec held up his hand motioning for Harry to stop when he heard the sounds of footsteps. The footsteps were accompanied by the closing of a door and then the floor was quiet once again. After turning a corner, Harry noticed a flickering light coming from under the edge of one the doors. He reached out and slowly turned the door knob in attempt to keep the noise down. With an almost inaudible click, the door began to swing open. His silenced 9mm in his hand, Harry crept inside and found a single guard. The man was watching the security cameras covering the entrance and the street. There was no hesitation when he placed the barrel of his gun a few inches away from the man's head and pulled the trigger. The muffled sound of the gun shot belied the damage caused by the bullet. Reacting swiftly, he grabbed onto the man's shoulder before he could collapse onto the keyboard on the desk in front of him.

Alec joined him as soon as he heard the gun shot. He helped Harry lower the man to the floor. The top third of his face was gone and could be found in bits and pieces on the wall and monitors. Alec grabbed an empty file folder and covered what was left of the man's face preferring not to have to look at the mess. Super soldier or not, there were somethings a person did not need to see.

Harry left the room while Alec sat down and got to work hacking into the computer system to see what he could find.

It didn't take too long for him to find another set of stairs that led to the basement level. Something was off though, other than the guards at the entrance and the one he had killed, there was no one else around. Every other night, the place was filled with people going in and out. Even as he made his way down the stairs, his ears picked up sounds of chanting. As he got closer to the source, he was able to discern that the chanting was coming off the corridor to the left so he decided to follow the sounds for now. But he wasn't prepared for what he found.

The end of the corridor opened up into a large dimly lit room. What little light there was seemed to be focused on the center of the room. A woman stood in the center of the room on a raised platform, she had strange features narrow eyes, pale skin, and she was bald. Her limbs almost seemed too long for her heights and there was a faint reptilian look to her overall appearance. The only thing she wore was a sheer white robe that seemed ceremonial. In her hand she held a long silver dagger.

Harry couldn't understand what she was saying but he watched as a child maybe 10 years old approached her. The child nodded his readiness to her and moving almost as fast as a transgenic, she slashed his arm open with the dagger. The child made no noise even as blood started to drip to the floor. Then his body started to convulse and he collapsed to the floor dying a few moments later.

Despite himself, Harry was shocked that these people could so callously kill a child. He had to restrain himself when he saw another child approach in the exact same manner. This time though, the boy did not go into convulsions after being slashed. Another few minutes passed and the boy stood straight and proud before the group. The woman greeted him and directed him to join the others watching the ritual.

Before the next child could approach, Harry felt a hand grip his shoulder tightly. "Priestess, I think we have volunteer for the sacrifice at the end initiation rite." The man's voice called out. "701 has kindly handed himself into our care." Everyone in the room turned to look at Harry, their faces filled with disgust at the sight of him.

Harry felt his blood go cold, whoever this was, they knew he was from Manticore and they knew his designation. "No thanks, my schedule's booked tonight maybe some other time though. " His body twisted slightly and he kicked backwards, the blow landing on the man's thigh. The man didn't cry out or make a sound but he was forced away from Harry by the strength of the kick.

Harry completed his turn, disregarding the people in the main chamber in favor of this opponent. The man was a couple of inches taller than he was. He was dressed in an expensive suit that contrasted with their current location. Ames White grinned maliciously at him. "I'm going to enjoy seeing your heart cut from your chest 701. Filth like you should never have been allowed to exist."

There were two other men that had joined White and were standing on either side of him and just slightly behind him. Despite the odds, Harry couldn't help but respond "Yeah well, fortunately for me it wasn't your choice." Then, he snapped his hand up and shot one of the men in the chest. Harry was moving before the man was even knew he was dead.

White watched as the man crumpled to the ground dead. Rage filled him and his own gun was aimed at 701s retreating form. His speed was almost equal to that of Harry's. A gunshot echoed off the walls of the corridor and Harry's body spun into the wall when he felt the bullet impact his shoulder. His gun dropped to the floor when his hand opened in reflex. In desperation, he pulled his wand from a specially design pocket on the leg of his pants.

"_Avada Kedavra_" he said and a sickly green light flew from his wand towards White.

White moved out of the way, but his partner was hit in the arm by the spell. The light left his eyes and he fell to the floor dead. White didn't say anything; he just fired off two more shots without aiming. One tore in Harry's calf the other bored a hole into the wall by his head.

Harry hissed in pain. He sent a pair of blasting curses at the ceiling of the corridor. The explosions blinded him for a second but filled the air with dust and the corridor was partially blocked off with chunks of stone from the ceiling. Turning painfully, he heard the sounds of men approaching from the stairs. He looked up just in time to see blood blossom on the lead man's chest while the second man's head blew apart. Behind them up on the stairs stood Alec with his smoking gun still in his hand. "Come on, what are you waiting for, an invitation?"

"I've gotten enough of those tonight." Holding his left arm against his chest to help stabilize his shoulder he hobbled over towards Alec and they climbed the stairs before White could free himself. Luckily, there were no additional guards and they made it to the exit without incident. Reaching the outside of the building, they proceeded at street level towards their safe house.

Once they were a few blocks away, the pair ducked into a vacant warehouse to examine Harry's calf and shoulder. The bullet had left a deep gouge in the muscle but it was nothing that wouldn't heal in a day or two thanks to their accelerated healing. Alec ripped a strip of cloth from his coat and wrapped it tightly around the wound to prevent any further bleeding. His shoulder was a different matter, the bullet was still in the wound. All they could do for the moment was bandage it with another strip of cloth to slow any bleeding.

Another 10 minutes passed but there were no signs that they had been followed, so Alec and Harry left the warehouse and began heading to the safe house. Just in case, they took a circuitous route to throw anyone off their trail. By the time they reached it; Harry was ready to collapse. His wound were painful if not debilitating and all the walking was aggravating his calf especially.

When the safe house was in sight, Harry grabbed Alec's arm stopping him. His eyesight focused on the doorway and zoomed in like a camera. The heavy door was ajar and it looked damaged. "Something's wrong." He whispered.

Like Harry, Alec studied the doorway for a moment before nodding his head. "We need to check it out. If we have to run, we are going to need our money and spare weapons."

"We can't just waltz in the front door. One of the side windows would be better." Harry suggested.

"You stay out here, I'll check it out."

Harry started to protest and then stopped himself. While he certainly wasn't useless in a fight, Alec would be able to move more quickly and silently without him there. "Fine but if you get killed don't come whining to me."

"Yeah whatever dude." Alec drawled lightly before sprinting off to the side of the building and jumping straight up to grab onto the fire escape on the second floor. As quietly as he could, he slid the window open. He and Harry had disabled the lock on it should they ever need to sneak in or out without their handlers knowing it.

Alec made his way inside and crouched down by the door of the bedroom listening for anything. There was nothing, no talking, no TV, and no movement. By all indications, he was the only person in the place. Moving quickly, he padded across the floor to the bedroom he shared with Harry. His footsteps were loud to his ears in the deafening silence of the flat. On reaching the bedroom, he found the door open. The room had been searched thoroughly furniture was overturned and the beds had been torn apart, no doubt searching for anything the boys may have hidden. Alec couldn't stop the grin that came to his face when he saw that the window appeared untouched.

With little effort, he had raised the window and removed the wooden window sill. Beneath it was a hollowed out storage hole they had spent a couple of hours working on. Alec reached in and withdrew a thick wad of bills that had been lifted from the unsuspecting inhabitants of Edinburgh, a set of passports and ID, and lastly a spare set of Glocks with a number of ammo clips.

Before leaving, Alec descended to the first floor when he found no sign of the handlers on the second floor. Like the bedroom, the first floor was in shambles. There wasn't a single piece of furniture left in one piece. It was also where Alec found their two handlers. The larger of the two was tied securely in a chair but he made no move to untie the man. It was obvious that he was dead based on the unnatural angle of his head.

The second man was sprawled on the floor. A small bullet hole in his forehead was the only visible injury. The carpet around the body looked subtly darker than the rest a good indication of the blood that had no doubt been absorbed. Alec didn't bother checking either man and didn't really care that they were dead. Neither man was popular with him or Harry.

Less than a minute later, Alec was dropping from the second floor window he had used to enter and was walking over to Harry who had moved to stand in the shadows on the far side of the street.

"Well?"

"The place was torn apart. Don't know what they were looking for but I don't think they found it. Wells and Clark are dead though."

Harry just shrugged his shoulders without meaning to and stiffened with a jolt of pain for his action. "I think they were looking for us. The guy that shot me called me 701."

Alec's eyes widened in surprise. Very few outside of Manticore knew of its existence and no one should know of their designations. "They must have a mole on the inside. There's no other way and it explains our handlers. I think it's time we got the hell out of Dodge."

Harry smirked at him "You really should've paid more attention in the social idioms class; we're in the UK not the Deep South. We need to report in." Harry could imagine Alec's objection before he ever said anything and went on "But, I think we do it from London. It will be easier to blend in there. I don't know about you, but I have a feeling we are being setup."

Alec couldn't disagree with him. "I guess I get to put my car stealing skills to use then. Don't want to use up our cash if we don't have to. And we need to find someplace where I can get a better look at that shoulder wound."

"Oh Joy!" Harry said sarcastically.

----------

A few hours later back at the Breeding Cult's enclave, Ames White and the others participating in the Initiation Rite had finally managed to clear the debris from the corridor without bringing the rest of the ceiling down on their heads.

Ames had been surprised to find Jason Masters a member of the Conclave, the ruling body of the Breeding Cult, present for the Initiation Rite. The Edinburg Enclave was fairly small and would normally not attract such an honor. More than anything, it made him even more suspicious about what was going on. The transgenics were filth but their numbers were too few to be a major threat to the plan.

As soon as the way was clear, Masters ordered Ames to follow him. They walked past the bodies of the dead guards without even glancing down. Once they were away from the others, Masters turned towards Ames, rage burning in his eyes. "I want that filth found and wiped off the face of this planet."

There was no need to ask what he was talking about, Ames was pissed off himself. If he had been given all the information up front he would have just put a bullet in 701's head. He wasn't going to let this opportunity pass. "If I'd been told they were trained to use magic, they might not have gotten away to begin with!"

Masters took a deep breath, swallowing his anger. "We didn't know they had been trained. Our agent only told us that 494 and 701 were the only X5s to show any signs of magic. It was thought that Manticore didn't bother to train them since there were only two."

"Well obviously that was wrong, maybe you need to have a word with your agent in Manticore. Now, I'm going to need a team of Familiars if I'm going to track them down. At least their handlers are dead, I saw to that personally before coming here tonight."

"Good, that will make your job somewhat easier. We have to make sure that they don't reach the wizarding world. You're authorized to do whatever you need to in order to eliminate 494 and 701. Risk of exposure is not an issue."

More than anything he had seen or been told tonight, this shocked Ames. To risk exposure before they were ready to go ahead with their plan was unthinkable. "Why, what threat do they pose? The transgenics do not have great enough numbers to be a threat to us."

Masters weighed his words before speaking. It wasn't his way to explain himself to those not part of the Conclave but if he wanted White to succeed then he was going to have to give him the information to do the job. It was critical that Ames understand the importance of this mission. "Manticore tried to breed magic into their monstrosities but only 494 and 701 have the ability. To make matters worse, we believe they are likely immune to the pathogen. If they are able to mobilize the wizarding world, the normals may be able to stand against us."

"Immune…but how?"

"That's unclear; it could be a combination of their magic in conjunction with everything else that Manticore put into them. So far the other transgenics that we have captured are susceptible but the DNA assays that were done on those two show an almost 100 immunity." Masters paused for a moment. "You can have any resources available to accomplish the goal but we are still rebuilding the UK Enclave so for the time being those resources may be somewhat limited."

Ames knew he was walking a fine line. Masters was being far more open with him then he ever expected but the time it would take to bring in full resources would give the two freaks time to go underground making his job a whole lot harder. "What happened here?"

Again Masters found himself weighing his words and deciding what Ames White needed to know. There had been talk in the Conclave of bringing him in and this mission; if he succeeded may be his ticket. "About 150 years ago, the wizards and witches that were members of the UK Enclave split and formed a splinter group of sorts. They twisted our beliefs and began breeding exclusively amongst their select little group stressing the purity of blood. It's destroyed the value of their genetic lines from our perspective."

"Why let them live?"

"We didn't want to risk exposure at the time. About 50 years ago or so, a dark wizard rose to power and used their beliefs in blood purity to recruit his followers. Many of the families were devastated but there are still a number that remain. If 494 and 701 make it to the wizarding world, you are authorized to reach out to the remaining families for assistance."

"But they are traitors; they should be wiped out just like the transgenics."

"Yes they are and that is why you are also ordered to eliminate any that assist you once you accomplish your goal. Any wizards and witches that associate with 494 and 701 are considered targets as well. If we are exposed hopefully we can at least frighten the wizard into passivity."

The grim orders were a relief for him. Ames felt like he was on solid ground again, these orders made more sense in light of the situation. "Fenest'ol" He said in acknowledgement. He was about to leave to begin organizing his team when Masters grabbed him by the arm.

"Ames, I want you to make it painful. They both are to be examples of what comes from interfering in our business."

For the first time since he had found 701 that evening, a grin appeared on White's face. It exuded all the menace he was known for back at the FBI. It was the kind of grin that made people turn and walk in the other direction. And it promised a very painful death for X5-701.

**July 23rd, 2006**

_**Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry, UK**_

Albus was enjoying his breakfast in the great hall with the few professors that were present over the summer holidays. The only other professors that had stayed over the holidays were Professors McGonagall, Trelawney, and Sinistra. Albus had just started to dig into a delicious looking cherry tart when the door at the side entrance flew open and Minerva McGonagall rushed in, her grey hair loose from its normal bun.

"Albus, you must see this!" She urged brandishing a letter in her hand.

Regretfully, he put his tart back down on the plate to get a better look at the letter she was waving about. Smiling he quipped "It's a little hard to see what it is if you don't stop waving it around."

Minerva huffed indignantly before slapping the letter down onto the table in front of Albus.

Albus saw it was the letter that was prepared for Harry Potter every year just as the ones for the other students. "Minerva, I'm not sure what you expect me to see. It is Harry Potter's letter just like any other year."

A bit of Minerva's normal personality began to peek through her excitement again. She said waspishly "Maybe that twinkling in your eyes is blinding you to what is right in front of you Albus. Surely you noticed the addition of an address. He must have returned from wherever he has been the past 14 years."

Albus' bright blue eyes snapped down to examine the letter once again. There in bright green ink was an address and it was in London no less. A smile bloomed on his face and he felt a heavy weight lift from his shoulders. Perhaps it would not be too late to give the boy the chance he would need to defeat Voldemort. That had been Albus' greatest fear that somehow Harry would be found by Voldemort or his Death Eaters and the boy would be killed without ever knowing why or having a chance to defend him.

"This is glorious news." He stood up, his tart forgotten in his excitement. "I think I will deliver his letter personally."

Minerva fell into step beside him. "You're not leaving without me. James Potter was one of my best students. I'm not about to allow his son to go through life without being taught by me."

The remaining professors just stared at the pair; no one had heard the discussion or knew what the letter was about. Shrugging their shoulders, they returned to their meals and conversations.

_**Grand Residence Marriott, Mayfair London UK**_

"Alec we can't stay here much longer. We're burning through our cash too fast and unless you want to spend your nights as a cat burglar we need to find somewhere a little less upscale." Harry argued for the 10th time that morning. The room was large, spacious and far more comfortable than anything they had ever been provided at Manticore or on a mission. It had been especially nice while his calf and shoulder were still healing. His calf was fine now and his shoulder was still sore but nothing too severe. Part of him, a big part of him wanted to stay but the more practical side was telling him to find something where they wouldn't stand out.

"I know but you can't say that you actually want to leave."

Harry nodded his head "I don't ok, it's nice to have something other than a military bunk for a change but what about Manticore. We stick out here, we're just lucky that the hotel bought our story about our parents showing up in a couple of days."

"Of course the 100GBS I gave the clerk might have helped some too." Alec offered. "Look I get it, we need to leave but we also need to figure out what we are going to do. Our cash and picking pockets is not going to get us very far. It's just a matter of time until Manticore thinks we've gone rogue if they haven't already."

A frown marred Harry's features; it was odd their mission code that they were supposed to use to report in was not working so they had been unable to reach anyone in Manticore since the night they had found their handlers dead. "Fuck and that freaky Breeding Cult is probably after us too. You got away with the mother lode of intelligence hopefully we can use it as a bargaining chip if necessary. But I'm still not sure what we should do with it either. If Manticore is compromised they might not do anything with it."

"How the hell were we lucky enough to land in the middle of this shit?" Alec grumbled.

"We're special that way. Seriously though, where are we going to go? Do we stay here in the UK or go back to the States? It's closer to Manticore but it's also more familiar ground. Not to mention the fact that it is a hell of a lot easier getting weapons there than it is here."

"I don't see any easy way out wherever we go. We're gonna have Manticore and the Breeding cult on our ass." Alec snorted "Maybe we should look for the other escapees. They've certainly evade Manticore long enough to give use some help."

Harry grunted noncommittally. He knew Alec was kidding, despite years of trying Manticore had never found a trace of the missing X5s. Before he could reply though, someone knocked on the main door of their suite.

Harry looked at Alec, the question in his eyes. Had Alec ordered anything to be delivered? Alec just shook his head and slid his hand into his jacket letting it rest on his Glock.

Slowly, Harry opened the door after looking through the peephole. Standing there in the doorway was an elderly man and woman dressed in rather outlandish outfits. The man had a ridiculously long beard and snow white hair beamed when he saw Harry. "Harry Potter…" Albus got no further.

As soon as he heard his name Harry reached out with a strength and speed that surprised the man and grabbed onto his wrist. With a strong pull, Albus stumbled into the room only to come face to face with the muzzle of Alec's gun. Harry spun around and had his own gun pressed into Minerva's back before she could register what was going on.

"Who the fuck are you people?" Harry demanded as soon as they were all in the suite and the door was closed and locked.

Albus was stunned for a moment by the reaction of Harry and this other boy. Yet he had been in tense situations before and he did not think that they were interested in hurting himself or Minerva. As much as possible, he adopted a calm reassuring voice and said "Harry, I apologize, my name is Albus Dumbledore and my companion is Minerva McGonagall."

Harry and Alec relaxed somewhat but didn't lower their weapons. "That doesn't explain how you know my name." Harry replied but his tone was slightly less hostile than before. He wasn't sensing any danger from either of the strangers.

"I knew your parents. I was there headmaster while they were in school and Minerva was one of the professors. I've known you since they first brought you home from the hospital."

Harry and Alec were thinking the same thing. These people didn't know anything. He had been created in a lab at Manticore that fact was drilled into every X5's head. But Harry did have vague memories of a red haired woman with bright green eyes and a black haired man with a laughing face. He supposed it was possible that Lydecker had let them care for him for some reason but he couldn't fathom why.

Alec butted in and asked pointedly "How did you know where he was?" If these people knew Harry's parents then they may be from Manticore but he found that unlikely. This was not the standard MO.

Minerva knew Albus well enough to stop him before he made a giant mistake. "Albus you can't, you know the law."

"It's quite alright Minerva he is the same as Harry." It was true; he could sense powerful magic from each of the boys. From Harry it wasn't a surprise, he was born from two powerful parents and he was a child of prophecy. The other boy should have been trained somewhere, his magic was strong enough that it would not have gone unnoticed. Moving his hand slowly so the boys would not register his movements as a threat, he withdrew the letter from his pocket and offered it to Harry.

Harry used his thumb to tear open the envelope without moving his gun away. Once open, he grabbed onto the letter and shook it from the envelope. After perusing it for a moment Harry turned his eyes back to the old man "Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry, is this for real?"

At this point, Harry decided to take a chance and lowered his gun. If they worked for Manticore, there was no reason for them to go through such an elaborate charade and the Breeding Cult probably would have shot them on sight.

Alec took his cue from Harry and reluctantly lowered his gun as well. Like Harry though, he didn't put the gun away, preferring the security that it offered if something should happen.

"Yes my boy. Hogwarts is one of the most renowned magical schools in the world." He paused long enough to study the reactions of both boys. They didn't seem surprised by the existence of magic but something else was troubling them. "Neither of you seem surprised that magic is real." He observed.

Alec offered a vague reply "We've had some private tutors over the years but we don't really know anything about that world."

Minerva argued "Your accents are American; surely you would have attended one of the schools there. If your parents knew enough to get you tutors then I don't understand why they wouldn't send you to a school or at least teach you of the wizarding world."

Harry fell into the story they had come up with should someone ever ask about their upbringing or training. "We've been going to a military academy since we were 5 years old. Our guardians felt it was better that we complete our schooling there and hired private tutors." The last part he had made up on the spot, they never expected to run into a witch and wizard.

It made sense to Albus now. If Harry was in the United States, he would have been outside the range of Hogwarts' locator spells and years spent in a military academy could surely explain the training that was evident in both the boys. "Where are you parents? Why would they allow you to have weapons?"

"Our _guardians" _He replied stressing the word "were killed a few nights ago and whoever did it tried to kill both of us as well. So Alec and I ran from Edinburgh and ended up here. We haven't figured out what to do next yet." It wouldn't hurt to try and generate a little sympathy so Harry let his voice quiver a little but he almost lost it when he saw a tear roll down Alec's cheek.

There acting must have been better than he thought because he found himself wrapped in a tight hug by the stern faced woman. After releasing him, she rounded on Albus and said authoritatively "Albus, we can't leave these boys here. Whoever was after their guardians might follow them here, surely they would be safer at Hogwarts."

"I am in agreement Minerva. Harry would you and Alec be willing to come with us to Hogwarts. The wards protecting the school are perhaps some of the strongest in the wizarding world. And it will give you a chance to learn about the our world as well." Behind his calm façade, Albus was worried. There had been rumors of increasing Death Eater activity. Somehow, they must have discovered Harry and his friend when they were in Edinburgh. Still, he couldn't help but wonder what part of the story was being left out. No doubt it would be some time before Harry trusted him enough to share the whole story but for now it was more important the he be safe.

"We wouldn't want to impose." Harry protested but this would be a perfect escape for them. Manticore would have no way of finding them and hopefully it would make it more difficult for the Breeding Cult to find them as well. Plus it would give he and Alec time to plan their next move.

"Nonsense, Hogwarts is a boarding school so there is plenty of room. In fact, you might want to consider staying here for the school year, give yourselves a chance to interact with other witches and wizards your own age."

Harry was a little reluctant to agree to stay for school but the offer for shelter was too good to pass up. "I can't promise we'll stay for the school year but I would like to see Hogwarts."

Alec nodded in agreement. Soon enough they were packed again and after checking out of the hotel, Albus created a portkey to take them to Hogwarts.

**_Manticore,_** **_Gillette, WY USA_**

Lydecker was pacing in his office waiting for an update on the fuckup in Scotland. There had been no word from 494, 701 or their handlers for four days now. Two days ago he had dispatched a team to investigate. The report he got in return did not make him happy. The safe house was torn apart and both handlers were dead but there was no sign of either X5.

One of the X5s should have reported in by now. It left Lydecker with two viable options; they were either dead or rogue. Lydecker hoped the two were dead because if they weren't that meant that they had gone rogue. Either way, a retrieval would be required, if the X5s were dead, their DNA was too valuable. It could be used by a foreign government to start their own super soldier program.

The door opened after a hard knock. Lydecker moved to stand in front of his desk as the man delivered his report. There had been sightings of boys matching the X5s descriptions leaving Edinburgh. Lydecker was left with no choice. "Dispatch a retrieval team."

"Yes sir and what are their orders."

"Capture if possible, kill if necessary but the bodies are to be brought back to Manticore."

_**New York, NY USA**_

"This is the 3rd victim. The cause of death is different but the teeth are the same. Whoever is killing these people rips their teeth out after the victim is dead. Who knows what the killer does with them after that." Detective Kelly said to his partner Murphy.

"And don't forget, each victim has that strange barcode tattoo on the back of their necks. It's always new so the question becomes did the victim get it done willingly or did the killer do it." Murphy added.

The pair of detectives continued to survey the latest crime scene when a uniformed officer ran up to them. Excitedly the man said "Detectives, you're going to want to see this. The guy was actually caught on a security camera."

Not wasting any time, the trio of men hurried back to store at the entrance to the alley where the body had been found. Once inside the uniformed office queued up the recording and replayed the murder. The tape showed everything, even the removal of the victim's teeth.

"Jesus, he's just a kid. He can't be more than 15, 16 years old." Kelly said softly. Even after he saw it, he was having a hard time believing that kid was capable of something so gruesome.

"Wait, rewind it bit." Murphy ordered. "Stop, there look." He pointed to the kids neck. There it was, the same bar code tattoo that was on the victims. "Get this kids face to all the precincts, I want him caught before he can kill someone else."


	3. Slow Progression

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Dark Angel

**Chapter 3: Slow Progression **

**July 26thth, 2006**

_**London, UK**_

Ames White was not a happy man. Shortly after the transgenic filth had escaped from Edinburgh he and his team had left for London. A car stolen the same night from Edinburg was found in London two days later. It was the only lead they had to work with but he had been unwilling to take chances so he had left a handful of men behind in Edinburgh to continue the search there.

Presently, he was pacing the office he had commandeered for their use during the search. The walls were covered with maps of London that had been divided up into search grids. Later today he would be meeting with local police. His status as an FBI agent would come in handy. Ames was going to let it be known that the two transgenics were material witnesses to a murder back in the US and were to be detained if they were found. He didn't think the police would find them, but it should help to keep the transgenics from settling in anywhere making them easier to find.

A cold cup of coffee and a stale bagel sat on his desk in front of him along with some tips and leads on unconfirmed sightings here in London. Ames had just started to going through the latest sightings when the door to the office opened and his second in command walked in. The man was tall, a good 6'2 in height with thick back hair that was slicked back. He had dark eyes that never showed emotion and despite his heavy muscular build was able to move quickly and silently. All in all, Christopher Heitter was not someone to take lightly.

Despite all this, Ames put the man in place with a menace filled gaze. "Do you have anything to report Heitter?"

"We have three full teams of familiars now operating in London. Another two are on their way from the States and and should be here within the day."

"Have any of the sightings panned out?" Ames asked coldly. He was still frustrated at the amount of time it was taking to assemble the teams. With 5 teams though, he would have more than enough men to take out the two transgenics and deal with anything that Manticore might throw into the mix.

"Yes, we think we have a confirmed sighting at a Marriott hotel. The desk clerk and some of the hotel staff recognized both of the animals from the pictures. They were quite positive that they were the same as the pair that had been staying in one of their suites for a few days before abruptly checking out."

"When was this?"

"It was three days ago sir." Heitter was waiting calmly for the inevitable explosion.

Ames didn't disappoint him, the coffee cup was sent crashing into the wall where it shattered. "This is worthless then, they could be anywhere by now!"

"Sir, they were seen leaving with an elderly couple. There was no security footage of the transgenics which isn't surprising. I'm sure they intentionally stayed in blind spots or ensured that their backs were to the cameras but the elderly couple made no such efforts." Heitter opened one of the file folders he was carrying with him and removed a photo.

Ames practically snatched it out of his hands in his eagerness to study the picture and see if he recognized the people. A frustrated sigh was his only reaction, he didn't recognize either the man or the woman. "Have there been any sightings since they checked out of the hotel?"

"No sir and that's what concerns me. We have the airports and ports covered, they could not escape the country."

"Yes you're right, get Richards in here. Perhaps his magic will be more use this time." White had tried to use magic after that first night but Richards wasn't able to get any result. It turns out that magic can be affected in a similar manner to electronics in a magical environment. Only high powered spells will work in a heavily technological environment. The locator spell that Richards used is not a high powered spell so if the transgenics were in a city it would most likely not function. Ames was hoping that they had left the city to a more rustic area and thus would be vulnerable to the spell.

"Right away sir." Heitter turned on his heel and left the room.

A short while later, Heitter returned with Richards. Unlike Heitter, Richards would never by physically intimidating. He was of average height with soft features and light brown hair. Despite his appearance, the man was a professional and always willing to do what was necessary to accomplish the objective. Ames had worked with him in the past a few times and had never been disappointed with the results.

"Ames White, what can I do for you?" Richards said affably.

"I want you to try the locator spell again. I'm hoping that the targets have left the city."

Richards needed no further explanation. He pulled his wand from an inner pocket on his suit coat and began waving it a series of controlled movements while concentrating on the pictures of Harry and Alec. Soon enough, he finished casting the spell and all three men watched as the photos of the two transgenics began to glow with a soft yellow light. Slowly, a map began to form showing the UK, within the map a location was glowing brightly, much brighter than the rest.

Richards stared at the map for a moment in surprise before stating "They have somehow found their way into the wizarding world. The two X5s are currently at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry."

Ames swore under his breath, he had hoped he wouldn't have to deal with the descendents of the traitors but now it looked like he wasn't going to have any choice in the matter. Moving quickly, he snatched the photo of the elderly couple of from his desk and handed it to Richards. "Do you recognize either of these two people, they could be the ones that took them into the wizarding world?" It was unlikely that either of the X5s had any experience with the wizarding world despite their training. Manticore would never have let them off the leash long enough to go somewhere the handlers would have no power.

Richards had barely glanced at the picture when he replied "The man is Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwarts. He is a prominent wizard in the British wizarding world though his influence is somewhat less outside of the borders of the UK. The woman I don't know but I assume she is Minerva McGonagall, the deputy Headmaster. I'm not sure why they would help two transgenics though. What names were they going by?"

"Harry Potter and Alec McDowell…do you recognize those names?" Ames asked when he saw Richards pale slightly.

"This mission just became a lot more difficult. Harry Potter is famous for defeating a powerful dark wizard, Voldemort when he was a baby. I don't know how we're going to do this without risking exposure."

Ames White couldn't help but laugh at the irony of the situation. Harry Potter, a transgenic targeted for death was responsible for helping to thin the ranks of the wizard traitors from the breeding cult. Both Richards and Heitter stared at him with confused expressions on their faces until he explained.

Once he had regained control of himself Ames asked "Have we made contact with the any of the families in the wizarding world?"

"Many have been wiped out or are imprisoned for crimes they committed while following Voldemort. But, we have initiated contact with one of the higher ranking families that managed to escape more less unscathed."

"Who is it?"

"The Notts, they have a son that is currently attending Hogwarts, so we may be able to use them to gain access to the school."

"Good. Setup a meeting with him, I want to find out what his assistance is going to cost us. Heitter, bring in the men from Edinburgh, no sense in leaving them up there. Assemble the other teams here in London and begin training against magical attacks."

Heitter was about to leave the office to begin recalling the teams when Richards raised his worry about the mission. "Sir what about the threat of exposure? If the transgenics are at Hogwarts than we run a big risk if we eliminate them."

Ames didn't even try to stop his grin this time. "I've already been told that exposure is not a concern. Once our primary mission is accomplished, we are to eliminate the traitors and anyone who has had contacts with the X5 vermin."

**July 30th, 2006**

**_Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry, UK_**

Harry and Alec had been at Hogwarts for over a week now and they were slowly becoming accustomed to being in such a foreign environment. Harry in particular was finding that he had to adapt more to keep his background a secret because apparently he was a celebrity in the wizarding world. Alec had still not stopped laughing at him when he learned that Harry was a hero at the tender age of 15months.

To date, the only reason that either boy could think of for his survival was his altered genetics. It could be that something that Manticore had done had given him some sort of immunity or partial immunity to the killing curse. Unfortunately, it was not something they could test out. If he was at least partially immune, it did not extend to other spells because he had been injured or incapacitated numerous times during his training with the hit wizard.

The heroic nonsense as Harry thought of it began almost as soon as they arrived at Hogwarts. Dumbledore and Minerva took some time to give them a tour of the school. Exclamations of awe and wonder were expressed even if they weren't really felt. There were aspects that the boys found fascinating, such as the moving portraits but the staircases, candles, and other oddities left them asking the question, why bother.

After their tour was complete, Albus introduced them to the other staff members that were on hand. The professors were gushing over his return, falling all over themselves in an effort to shake his hand and thank him for saving them all those years ago. Albus took pity on the boy and offered to show them to their quarters. It was a long walk through winding corridors but neither Harry or Alec would have any problem navigating their way back to the Great Hall as both had been gifted with near photographic memory by the geneticists at Manticore.

Their quarters consisted of a shared dorm room with two beds and a sitting room with a large fireplace. The floor was covered by a pale blue plush rug and there was a sturdy wooden sofa with dark green coverings and a pair of wing chairs with similar coloring. Before leaving the boys to settle in, Albus told them he would be by later to pick them up for dinner in the Great Hall.

Harry and Alec spent the time unpacking their belongings and making plans. One of the first things they found was that their laptop was not working. Deciding to ask about it over dinner, they moved on and discussed their first impressions. Neither was particularly impressed with the professors. They were so undisciplined compared to their trainers back at Manticore. This segued into what they would do about their own training. Given the ample grounds around the castle and the fair weather since it was the middle of summer, they would simply use an open area. Since they did not have any spare ammunition at the moment there would be no shooting practice. Hopefully their martial arts practice wouldn't raise any eyebrows.

Now, a week had passed and they were on their way to dinner again. As usual, the meal started with food appearing on the table in front of them. Despite the options offered to them, Harry and Alec frequently stayed with fairly simple health food avoiding the sweet desserts in particular. Neither had ever really developed a taste for sweets and Manticore certainly wasn't in the habit of offering something so unhealthy.

"Albus, do you know why our laptop doesn't work?" Alec asked curiously. It had taken the other professors a little time to adjust to hearing two 16 year olds refer to the headmaster by his first name.

Albus just looked at the other professors quizzically before turning back to Alec "I'm not sure what a laptop is, is it some muggle device?"

Alec resisted the urge to roll his eyes and after taking a sip water from his goblet he nodded his head. "Yes, it's a portable computer. We were hoping to do some research but it won't turn on."

Albus swallowed a bite of tart before answering. "That is your answer then, muggle devices frequently do not function in a heavy magical environment."

Harry set his goblet down with a thunk almost spilling the water. He stared at them dumbfounded "Is that why everything here is so…so…primitive?"

Professor Sinistra who while not a sympathizer of Voldemort's did not see that the muggle world had anything to offer them asked somewhat snidely "What do muggles have that could possibly be better than magic?

Alec practically choked on his food. He glared at Harry after being pounded on the back much harder than was strictly necessary. "Are you serious? Our laptop could probably hold the entire contents the library and still have room to spare. You'd be able to research topics across the entire range of books in minutes."

Alec went on explaining about the internet and the range of information that was available from sources all over the world. Most of the professors were amazed that something like that had been created by the muggles. The closest thing they could think of that existed in the wizarding world were self-updating books but the idea of trying to link them to an infinite number of sources was out of the question.

Sinistra had been trying to deny the usefulness of something like a laptop or the internet but if the boy was not exaggerating its capabilities, it far surpassed anything that could be done with the tools that existed today in the wizarding world.

"What do you use for research?" Harry asked curiously. "Computers are an integral part, storing data, performing analysis, running computations, that kind of thing. Computers have been used to map the human genome, giving us a better understanding of the basic structure of our DNA." Yeah, he and Alec were perfect examples of that better understanding he thought a little bitterly.

The professors were even more confused now. Many had heard of the terms that Harry had mentioned but there was no real understanding of their meaning or the science behind them. Alec went on to explain that the knowledge was used to target cures for diseases, correct birth defects, and gain a better understanding of how the world functions.

"Surely you must have something similar, how are new spells created?"

"Alas, very few people go into spell creation now days. Frankly, the wizarding world has become very lazy content to live in the world without pushing boundaries."

Harry asked "What about the wizards and witches that come in from the outside? How well do they fit in?"

"Many leave once their schooling is done or move to the United States where there is more of an intermingling of the wizard and muggle worlds." Albus answered somewhat sadly.

The conversation continued on in this vein for quite some time. Alec and Harry were careful to take note of everything being said so they could go over it again once they were alone. Soon enough dinner was over and Harry and Alec returned to their room.

The door to their room clicked as the lock latched into place. Neither boy was convinced there wasn't some type of surveillance in place but they had not found anything and the few detection spells they knew came back negative too.

"So what do you think? Alec asked.

"I think that if these professors are a typical example, than the wizarding world is one fucked up place."

"I can't argue with you there, I mean from what we have seen magic is capable of some pretty incredible things, but it is just stupid to ignore everything that is non-magical too."

"I almost started laughing when they described the Death Eaters and their pure blood only policy. It sounds like farmers raising a prize pig. They have no idea about genetics or the fact they will breed themselves out of existence if the pure bloods have their way."

Alec nodded in agreement before adding "This no technology thing is going to complicate things if we stay here. We're going to need to have someplace where I can work if I'm going to crack the security on the data. If it's going to be our bargaining chip we better know what's in there."

"We need a fallback position anyway. This place may be a castle but it certainly isn't secure. I don't care what wards do or how strong they supposedly are, there's so many avenues for someone to get in or out it's a joke."

"It is a school and not a fortress." Alec laughed.

Harry shook his head, a smile on his face "I know and it's good enough for now but I won't be comfortable until we have somewhere to run to. Unfortunately, to do all this, we're going to need resources we don't have at the moment."

Alec laughed again. If they wanted to they could rob this place blind but finding someone to sell everything to would be a different matter and it would also add to their ever growing list of enemies. By now, they both were certain that Manticore had sent a team after them.

Harry and Alec stayed up late that night planning out things that would need to be done. It was decided that they would need to get an apartment away from the school that they could retreat to. They would use the excuse that there were things they needed to do on their laptop and thus needed a non-magical environment to work from. It would also give them some opportunity to try and find the local black market, their ammunition would not hold out long and they would need a supplier. While they were growing more comfortable with magic, both wanted to have a backup.

Before going to bed for the night, Harry brought up one more topic. "What do you think about staying here and taking Dumbledore up on his offer of schooling?"

Alec asked curiously "What do we have to gain by staying here?" He wasn't against staying but he wanted to hear Harry's reasoning.

"Besides a free place to stay, even if it isn't secure, I think there is a lot that was left out of our training. Sure most of the crap we've seen here is useless but the underlying magic could be useful."

"I don't think Lydecker really knew much if anything about magic so he didn't know what to have us trained in." Alec agreed. "If I'm right, then Manticore probably doesn't have any way to find us in the wizarding world either."

"I was thinking the same thing. We can hope that the Breeding Cult is similarly ignorant but we shouldn't count on that."

"If we're going to stay, I think you should be the one to approach Dumbledore. After all, you're their hero." Alec finished in a simpering tone as he moved onto his bed and dodged the incoming pillow. He was lying on his back with his hands behind his head as he stared up at the canopy above his bed.

Harry was still puttering around, changing his clothes and putting some items away before he climbed into his bed. "Sure stick me with the creepy old man but he does seem to have some guilt complex or something going on. I can probably exploit that and fall back on my celebrity status if necessary."

"See if we can keep our own room because I don't want to be sharing a room with a bunch of normals." Alec said half jokingly. "Seriously though we are going to need some special privileges . You need to make sure we can leave without having to sneak out all the time."

"Our own room isn't a bad idea. I'll see what I can do. It wouldn't hurt to get someone to show us more of the wizarding world too." Harry paused looking at Alec critically. "We need to start training again, you're starting to look a little flabby."

Alec snorted and threw Harry's pillow back at him. "Hey, I'm not the one who got shot. Still, if you want to get your ass kicked I will be more than happy to oblige. In fact, I'll beat your ass tomorrow morning, outside near the stadium if you have the guts."

"I know your mouth is in shape anyway." Harry quipped good naturedly. Ignoring anything else Alec had to say, Harry rolled over and went to sleep.

------

Elsewhere in Hogwarts, Albus was having a conversation regarding Harry Potter and his friend Alec McDowell.

"Albus, I'm worried about Mr. Potter. I'm not sure he will adapt well to the wizarding world." Minerva said, her normal cool tone breaking slightly with her worry.

If it had been anyone else, Albus would have dismissed that but he placed a great deal of weight on Minerva's impressions. "Why would you think that?" He offered her a cup of tea which she gratefully accepted before sitting down in a plush chair.

"It was the questions he was asking tonight. I'm afraid neither Harry or his friend left with the best opinion of the wizarding world. There is much the wizarding world has to offer but I'm not sure they will stay to find out or if they do whether they will accept it." She had been impressed by the caliber of the questions posed to the professors during dinner and she was ashamed to admit that more often than not the only real answer was that it had always been done that way.

"Yes, we did not have very good answers for many of their questions. Sadly, we have become quite insular here. Perhaps Harry, with his status in the wizarding world, can be a force for change."

Minerva set her cup down on the desk and leaned forward. "In order to be a force for change, he must be here. Those boys need more contact with the wizarding world than the handful of professors here this summer. A visit to Diagon Alley wouldn't hurt either."

Albus beamed at Minerva "That is an excellent idea. I had been considering inviting some of the students here to meet Harry along with Sirius Black and Remus Lupin. I'm sure he would like to learn more of his parents. And a trip to Diagon Alley could be the perfect ice breaker."

Minerva nodded in agreement now that some of her concerns were addressed. "Do you think he will stay for the school year?"

Albus' face lost some of its exuberance and he held his tea cup before him. He gazed into it contemplatively like he was hoping the tea leaves would hold his answer "I do not know. I'm not sure what they have to return to in the muggle world. But I'm curious to see what they have learned from their private tutors."

It was Minerva's turn to look pensive now as she considered how to phrase her next question. "Albus…" She paused again "What do you think those two are running from?"

Albus was silent. His tea sat before him untouched. What little he knew of Harry Potter was running through his head. "I don't know and until we earn his trust, I don't think we will know."

Minerva was by no means a stupid woman and she proved it once again when she mused aloud "Whatever it is, I think it started back with James and Lily."

"What makes you say that?"

Minerva was now lost in thought as she spoke almost absently "Have you ever heard of a charm to hide being pregnant? Of course a glamour might work but Lily never moved or acted like she was pregnant, even at the end. Even magic can't help with that."

"Do you think that Harry is not their child?"

Minerva snorted in a very unladylike fashion "No, he is obviously there child but when you combine Lily's mystery pregnancy with the circumstances of his custody following their death, there is something going on that we don't know about."

Albus cast a quick charm to reheat his tea and took a sip. "I fear you may be right. We can only hope that he comes to trust us while there is still time to offer help."

"At least he isn't alone. Whatever is going on, both Harry and Alec are involved. They certainly remind me of the Marauders minus the pranking." Her tone had taken on a wistful note at the end.

"I will speak with Sirius and Remus tonight to see what can be setup. Regardless, Sirius has a right to know that Harry has returned."

**_Manticore,_** **_Gillette, WY USA_**

There was no other explanation for it. X5-494 and X5-701 had gone rogue. This was a mess, not quite as bad as the escape years ago but bad none the less. To make matters worse, this morning Lydecker had received orders to terminate the two X5s in question. There was to be no retrieval operation, his orders were to deploy wet works teams to eliminate the threat the two X5s posed to Manticore. Any normal that had been exposed was to disappear quietly. Manticore's existence could not be compromised.

Now, he was sitting in the Ops room planning out a missing to remove the threat posed by two of his X5s. "What's our status?" He asks of the men sitting around the table. The men include representatives from training, psi ops, and the wet works team.

Marcus had been in charge of training all the X5s so he was intimately familiar with everything they had been taught and the strengths and weaknesses that had been shown. "It's been more than a week since we lost contact with the X5 units." He never referred to them as boys or children or even as people. To Marcus, the X5s were nothing more than weapons in the US military's arsenal. "They've gone to ground and are going to be difficult to find."

Hess was the lead agent working in psi ops. "It may be easier if 701 lets 494 take the lead. 494 is less focused more prone to distraction. 701 if he takes charge will keep them moving and focused on evading our teams. His weakness will be 494, 701 forms attachments too easily and would be reluctant to leave 494 behind even if it meant his own capture."

Privately Lydecker wondered if that weakness wasn't a result of 701 living with his parents for close to 1 ½ years. It was too late now, but there were already clones being grown of 494 and 701 with the X6 gene sequencing to ensure that they would be more tractable. "If that's the case, than what can we do to slow them down?"

"I might have the answer to that little problem right here." Smith said. It was a little unnerving that the most dangerous man in the room had the most innocuous name. Smith and his team had never failed to eliminate their targets and they often lived up to their wetworks title. He passed around a series of photos and newspaper clippings.

Lydecker and the others took a few moments to read the stories and review the photos. As he read, Lydecker began to frown. The frown became more pronounced when he read the description and saw the photos of the primary suspect and the barcode on the back of his neck. "It's X5-493, he's killed those men in New York and probably elsewhere too. I fail to see the reason for sharing this now."

"I'm sharing this now because we can use it to force 494 & 701 to move before their ready. 494 & 493 are twins, the only difference is their barcode. How many people outside of Manticore will be able to tell the difference? None!" He finished sharply.

"Ahhh…you want to ensure that the photos and the story ends up plastered all over the British media. It would certainly hamper their movements. 494 would become a lead weight around 701's ankles."

They spent some more time working out the logistics of the plan before Lydecker dismissed them asking only Smith to remain behind. "Smith what are you going to do if they have managed to make it into the magical world?"

For once Smith didn't have an answer. He grimaced when he said "That could cause a problem. We have no idea where it is or what protections are in place. I've read your files on their training and the intelligence from those few you were able to coerce into coming here."

"I agree and it's one I suspected we could run into as soon as the X5s fell off our radar. I have put out feelers offering ridiculously large rewards for any information on the magical world. As soon as I have a taker, I will give you the information."

"Good. I'll start working with the my men as well. We're going to have to prepare for non-standard tactics. Our weapons are effective against magic but the direct approach probably won't work once their surprise wears off."

"I'd offer you the X6s but they are still too young to be of any use to you. If necessary, we can make some of the earlier X series units available." Lydecker offered.

"I'd prefer not to go that route. They may be reluctant to hunt their own kind." Smith looked speculatively at Lydecker "Why are you being so supportive of this? You've always argued against termination for any of the other escapees."

"494 and 701 are unique. Their magical ability makes them too much of a liability. After this incident, I wonder if their magic also helped them resist some of the conditioning they were put through. As valuable as they are, the risk is simply too great to ignore."

Smith studied him while he pondered Lydecker's answers. It all made sense, but he couldn't help but feel that there was something personal behind Lydecker's motives. Perhaps he had grown attached to the units and felt betrayed by their escape. It truly made little difference, nothing could change the fate of 494 and 701 now. "This is likely to be messy and if it makes it into the magical world, I'm likely to need additional men."

"We'll cross that bridge if and when we come to it. Dismissed."


	4. Converging Forces

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Dark Angel

**Chapter 4: Converging Forces**

**July 26thth, 2006**

_**Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry, UK**_

Harry and Alec left their room that morning, skipping breakfast. The pair was heading out towards the Quidditch Pitch; it was the location they had been using to spar in the mornings. It was away from the school so the professors were unlikely to see them and there were plenty of wide open spaces for them to maneuver around.

The sun was shining brightly; there was a light breeze with a few clouds dotting the sky. The temperature was in the low 70s so they were wearing nothing more than shorts and t-shirts. It took just a few minutes once they were outside for them to jog to their usual location. The entrance to the grounds was near the spot but off to the side so they would be out of site of anyone just walking by from Hogsmeade but someone actually walking to the school would see them.

"You ready to get your ass kicked?" Alec asked. Normally he and Harry were fairly evenly matched. Where Harry was a little stronger, Alec was a little quicker, lighter on his feet. It was usually a tossup as to who would win on a given day, but today was different. Harry while healed would still most likely be feeling the last twinges of his injuries giving Alec the advantage.

"Only in your dreams, little brother. I guess it's time I popped that ego of yours again. After all, I wouldn't want you to stop looking up at me…I mean to me." Harry knew Alec hated it when he called him little brother. It wasn't because he was younger; it was because Alec was an inch or two shorter than Harry.

"Oh don't start that shit again. You know you haven't grown in like 6 months; it's only a matter of time before I'm taller than you again. Then what will you have nothing but your sad jealousy that you will never measure up to me."

"I forget which one of us was the top of our unit. Oh yeah, that was me. Maybe I should have let you get your ass kicked some more, than it could be as big as your ego."

Alec looked at him strangely for a second before laughing loudly. "Dude, that didn't even make sense."

Harry blushed a little "Yeah I know but give me a break, we haven't eaten yet. You can't expect me to be at the top of my game."

"So, anything goes?" Alec asked.

"Magic or martial arts since you need all the help you can get to have a shot at me." Harry replied cheerily. It went unsaid that neither would move at their full speed, it simply wouldn't be a good idea to expose all of their capabilities should they be seen. Their strength could be explained away by training, at least to a certain extent that and it was hard to truly judge how strong an individual is. Moving so fast that you seem to blur is a little harder to explain away.

Alec scowled for a second before getting into position.

Harry laughed and moved into position.

What followed would have passed for the model of martial arts demonstrations. Perfectly timed punches were blocked or dodged. Kicks were traded. Bodies thrown.

Harry flipped backwards moving out of the way of an arcing crescent kick. Landing, he dropped and spun on his knee swinging his opposite leg out to sweep Alec's feet.

Alec jumped straight up to avoid the attack and whipped out his wand. A dark purple bone breaking spell shot from his wand.

Rolling out of the way at the last minute, Harry jumped to his feet and snapped off another basic front kick to force Alec back.

It was easy to counter Harry's simple attack but he failed to see it for the feint it was. He grunted softly, when his wrist was grabbed in a vice like grip and twisted painfully. His fingers lost their strength and his wand fell to the ground.

Harry, a little overconfident with the success of his attack held Alec's wrist for a second too long. He found himself flying through the air when Alec grabbed Harry's wrist with his free hand, twisted onto his back pulling Harry down on him before propelling him back over Alec's head with his feet.

His body twisted in midflight to better absorb some of the impact, but it didn't stop him from slamming into the broad trunk of an ancient oak tree. Shaking his head for a second, Harry was forced to dodge out of the way of another incoming spell.

An explosion broke the tranquil silence of the summer morning followed by the creaking moan when the ancient tree toppled over.

A steady stream of spells was keeping Harry from getting to close to Alec so he finally pulled his owned wand and began retaliating. Cutting curses, bone breakers, stunners, explosive hexes all began to fly as the pair lost themselves to the thrill of the match.

Neither one noticed the two figures running towards them

------

Sirius and Remus were walking up the path from Hogsmeade. Remus was laughing at his friend. He hadn't seen Sirius this animated in years. At first, Remus had been concerned that Azkaban had permanently changed his friend, he shuddered to think what he would have been like if he had been in prison for more than a year. When Crouch was ousted from his position, Amelia Bones his replacement began going through the records of the suspected Death Eaters and discovered that a number of them, including Sirius had never been given a trial.

Thankfully, Amelia was more concerned about seeing justice done than the reputation of the Ministry and pushed for trials. While the majority of the suspected Death Eaters were found guilty, there was a handful, Sirius included that was proven to be innocent.

Once Sirius had recovered, the first thing he had asked about was Harry. He had been terrified to learn that Albus had given Harry to Lily's sister. Both he and Remus had heard enough horror stories to know that he wouldn't be treated well. Then Albus explained that Harry was in someone else's custody having been granted it by Lily and James in the event of their deaths. This had mystified Sirius because it had never been mentioned before and he was supposed to be Harry's godfather.

It hurt to know that he might never see Harry again but at the same time he was comforted by knowing that he was being raised by someone chosen by his friends and not those awful muggles.

Last night Albus had contacted Sirius and told him that Harry had returned to England and was currently staying at Hogwarts. Of course, Sirius wanted to rush over immediately until Albus told him that Harry and his friend were already in their quarters for the evening. Instead, Albus suggested that he and Remus come over after breakfast and perhaps take Harry and Alec to Diagon Alley.

Sirius had been so hyper after the talk with Albus that Remus had almost stunned the man just to get him to shut up. Then, after keeping Remus up half the night, Sirius dragged him from bed just after dawn so they could get an early start.

Now here they were walking up the path that led from Hogsmeade to Hogwarts. "Padfoot will you calm down, we're almost there. Harry's probably still eating breakfast."

As they drew nearer to the entrance to Hogwarts' grounds, the sounds of fighting could be heard. Explosions started to break out followed by a loud rumbling sound. Sharing a nervous look with each both men pulled out their wands and ran up through the gates and toward the battle for that is what it sounded like.

What they saw stopped them both dead in their tracks. There were two teenagers fighting and one of them looked like James. Sirius gasped, it must be Harry. The blood in his veins ran cold when he saw the other boy cast a dark purple curse at Harry. Though they weren't close enough to hear the incantation, both men recognized it as a bone breaking spell.

Sirius let go of his startled gasp when he saw Harry dive out of the way. Harry twisted his body while still in the air and cast a blasting curse. He watched as Harry pulled in his hands, curled in and rolled to his feet when he landed.

Remus too was stunned but he was shaken out of it when Harry's opponent dodged the blasting curse, a deep hole marked the spot he had been standing. Moving quickly, Remus cast "_Stupefy_", the red beam and the words were enough to get Sirius to do the same.

As soon as the spells were cast, Alec and Harry heard the incantation and turned their attention towards their attackers. Alec neatly side stepped the two spells, forgoing the more dramatic acrobatics in favor of the simple dodge. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Harry circling away towards the brown haired man. Trusting Harry to take care of that threat, he focused his attention on the other man, the one with clear blue eyes and straight shoulder length black hair.

The only thing that saved Remus from Harry's attack was his werewolf enhanced reflexes and senses. At the last moment, he caught something moving at the edge of his vision. When Remus turned, Harry realized he'd been spotted and began darting forward throwing spells as a distraction.

Alec was casting increasingly powerful spells, keeping Sirius on the defensive. At the moment, Alec was more interested in questioning the man then in killing him. He wanted to know why he was attacked and it looked like Harry would soon have the other man neutralized.

Remus tried to call out but it was obvious that Harry saw him as a threat based on the spells flying his way. So he had no choice but to fight back, unlike Harry though, he restricted his spells to _Stupefy_ and _Petrificus Totalis_.

With a final burst of speed that had Harry close to blurring, he spun around dodging Remus' last attack. As he spun, he grabbed Remus' outstretched arm and twisted it behind his back, putting enough pressure on it so that it was painful but not to the point of breaking.

"Drop the wand now!" Harry called out loudly while at the same time, tightening his grip on Remus' arm.

Seeing that Sirius was hesitating, Alec cast a stunner at Sirius' feet making him jump back. "Do it! Or next time I won't miss and it won't be a stunner."

Totally confused now, Sirius knelt down and placed his wand on the ground. He didn't understand what was going on. Why would Harry attack Remus? Why couldn't Remus escape now, the strength he had as a werewolf should have been more than enough to let him break Harry's grip? How had this kid known such advanced magic or been able to dodge his attacks? All these questions were running through his mind as he stood up.

Sirius tried to explain "I think this is just a misunderstanding. We heard you two fighting and when you" pointing at Alec "cast that bone breaking curse at Harry, we just reacted."

Alec got nervous when the man said Harry's name. With a negligent wave, he summoned Sirius' wand while he was thinking. How could they know who he was? The only people who knew they were in the wizarding world were the professors here at Hogwarts. "You better have a good explanation why you know who Harry is or I swear you won't like the consequences."

Harry was ok with Alec taking the lead on this one. Whoever this guy was that he was holding, he was strong. It was only his enhanced strength and training that prevented him from getting away. Then he heard the other man mention his name, and he froze for a second in surprise. The only reason he could think of was that these two were in some way connected to Manticore or the Breeding Cult.

Remus felt Harry's grip slacken a little. Moving as quickly as possible, he tried to pull away from Harry. Unfortunately, while he was fast and strong, Harry was simply better in both areas.

Harry's training kicked in as soon as Remus began to struggle. A little extra pressure and a quick jerk of his hand snapped Remus' arm and seriously damaged his elbow.

All 4 men heard the wet crack when Harry snapped Remus' arm. It was followed almost immediately by a low moan of pain. If Harry wasn't still holding onto Remus, the man would have collapsed to the ground.

Panic began to set in again and Sirius hurried to say "I'm your godfather. Remus and I were best friends with your dad when we were in school. We thought you were being attacked. Please, let me take Remus to Poppy in the infirmary. She can confirm my story." He was almost pleading with Harry at the end.

Harry gave a brief nod to Alec. "Ok, we follow you in but you're not getting your wands back until we are satisfied that you're who you say you are."

Feeling a little pity for Remus, Harry stunned him and then levitated him. Seeing the concerned look from Sirius he explained "This way, he won't feel any pain."

Sirius felt a little better after hearing Harry's brief explanation. He was still a little worried though at how casually his godson had broken Remus' arm.

Alec poked him in the back. "Come on, you lead the way. If you've been here before, then it shouldn't be a problem."

Sirius shrugged his shoulders and led them into the castle. After all his visits to the infirmary during his time at Hogwarts, he could lead them there blindfolded. Not wanting to risk Remus' health, he took them on the most direct route he knew.

Soon enough they arrived at the infirmary. While Harry levitated Remus' body onto a body, Sirius called out for Poppy. The grey haired woman came bustling out of her office to see who was calling for her. "Sirius Black, I hoped I had seen the last of you. What are you doing back in my infirmary?" The words were sharp but there was affection underlying them.

"Remus was hurt. I'm hoping you can help him." Sirius answered, not wanting to give away what really happened.

Poppy walked over to the bed where Remus was lying. Her wand moved slowly over his prone body scanning for all injuries and illnesses. "What happened? His arm is broken and the elbow joint is severely damaged. Even with Skelegrow, it will take some time to heal this injury."

"Ummm…maybe you should just get Dumbledore; I don't think these two trust me right now." Sirius said somewhat sheepishly. Poppy wouldn't be able to confirm his story, she would have no reason to know that he is Harry's godfather.

She stared at him quizzically for a moment before shrugging her shoulders and fire-calling Albus. After a brief conversation, Poppy stepped away from the fire to allow Albus to come through into the infirmary.

Albus took in the sight of Remus' injured form and asked "What has happened here?"

Sirius quickly laid out the story and how Remus had gotten hurt. Albus confirmed that Sirius was indeed Harry's godfather after which some of the tension left the room.

"What were you boys fighting about? I've never even seen you quarrel." Albus asked curiously.

"We weren't fighting, we spar every morning. It helps us keep our skills sharp." Harry said honestly.

Sirius looked at him skeptically. "You spar like that every day? Those were dangerous spells you were using? What if one of you got hurt?"

"We heal quickly." Alec answered sarcastically. "Besides, we've trained like this for years, never had a problem until today when you two decided to play with us."

Albus cut Sirius off before he could say anything else. Truth be told, he was a little disturbed by the level of fighting himself. Low level spells were one thing but to include cutting and blasting curses, someone could be killed. "Regardless, I would prefer it if you allowed Poppy to examine you to make sure you have no injuries."

Both Alec and Harry shrugged before moving over to sit on an open bed.

Poppy nodded at Albus' suggestion and began running her scans over them. "Other than the fact that both have slight temperatures, just under 100 degrees, there is nothing wrong with either of them. Just sit there while I get a fever reducer." She scurried off to a large cabinet and removed two pale green potion vials.

Neither Harry nor Alec took the proffered potions. A look at Poppy's disgruntled face convinced Harry to explain why "We don't actually have a fever. At our school they discovered that we just run a little hot. 99.8 is our normal temperature."

Alec couldn't resist piping in "You did now that 98.6 is just an average and that people can have lower or higher standing temps."

"Of course I do!" Poppy snapped, but there was something in her eyes that said otherwise. It was clear from looking at Albus and Sirius that they had no clue that people's body temperature could be different.

Albus, again seeking to avoid an argument asked "Why did you attack Sirius and Remus?"

Alec looked at him incredulously; even Sirius was giving Albus a strange look because the answer was obvious. "They attacked me first. Harry and I were sparring when out of nowhere, those two start shooting spells at me. We just fell back into our training and took them out. I distracted Sirius while Harry neutralized Remus."

"What training? Why would you have gone through training like that?" Sirius felt his heart sinking, it sounded like Harry didn't have much of a childhood. It would have taken a long time for him to reach the level shown today.

"We have been going to a military academy since we were 4 years old. Alec and I have been partners and roommates almost the entire time. We were top of our class too." Harry added in proudly though he wasn't nearly as comfortable with that distinction as he made it sound. Because they were so good, it was doubtful Manticore would ever stop looking for them.

Sirius wanted to ask more about this military academy but decided it might be better to wait until they were a little more comfortable with each other.

Silence fell over the infirmary and Harry walked over to the window to look outside while they waited for Remus to wake up.

Sirius followed him over and was about to apologize when he noticed something. Even though it was an invasion of Harry's personal space, he ran his finger across the back of Harry's neck causing the teen to spin around. "What is that on the back of your neck?"

For the briefest of instants, panic flashed in Harry's bright green eyes and then it was gone again. "It's just a tattoo, Alec has one too. It was a group thing we did last year." Harry knew he was babbling a little, he was so used to wearing collared shirts that hid his barcode he had never come up with a cover story.

"Oh" Sirius said faintly disapproving. "Look I wanted to apologize to you and Alec for attacking you like that this morning. Even though I knew you were safe I still worried so when I saw you two fighting, I just reacted without thinking."

Harry studied Sirius, taking in the man, his stance, they way he carried himself and expressed his feelings. It all told Harry that he truly cared about him even though they hadn't seen each other in over 14 years. "It's ok." Then smiling mischievously he added "Just don't do it again, I may be able to kick Alec's ass but I'm pretty sure he can kick yours."

Before Harry could react, Sirius had grabbed him in a tight hug. "It's so good to see you again Harry. I've really missed you."

Alec laughed raucously while he watched as Harry awkwardly patted Sirius on the back before he was finally released. Afterwards, Sirius apologized to Alec as well.

Smiling, Albus left the infirmary, content in the knowledge that Harry would get to know his godfather without further mishap.

A short while later Remus began to wakeup. His groans were the first thing that alerted them. Sirius called for Poppy when he heard Remus. As before she came bustling out of her office, this time she had a sling in her hand as well. Before Remus was fully awake, Poppy had already finished running her scans and determined that the bone was healing nicely and should be back to full strength within a day. The elbow joint would take more time and she was worried about it being damaged further, hence the sling that Remus would be required to wear.

Once he was awake, Sirius described what had happened and the mistake they had made. Despite the explanation, Remus felt that there was something he was missing. As a werewolf, he had enhanced strength, he should have been able to escape Harry with little difficulty and yet he was the one who ended up with a broken arm and elbow joint.

Harry apologized to Remus "Sorry about the arm, just kind of reacted on instinct when you tried to pull away." Inside, Harry knew he would do it again in an instant if he was threatened.

"How did you do that? I'm pretty strong compared to most wizards but you didn't seem to have any problem holding me." Remus asked, voicing the nagging doubt and question he had about the encounter.

Alec answered for Harry, falling back into a lecturing tone he had picked up from one of their Manticore instructors. "It's got nothing to do with strength. All it takes is the correct application of pressure, that's why it was so easy to break your arm. That position requires just the slightest bit of additional pressure to make the break. We've been trained in martial arts for so long; it's virtually instinctual at this point. Like Harry said, it was just a reaction to your struggling, not a conscious decision on his part."

"I would love to learn that." Sirius said. He was an Auror so anything that might give him an edge was worth looking into.

Harry offered "We can teach you but it will take years for the moves to be second nature. They can be more a risk than an advantage if you have to put any thought into them when you are in the middle of a fight."

Sirius lost a little of his excitement. He didn't know why he was surprised, magic was similar. Maybe it was because it was a muggle fighting method he just thought they would be easier to learn. "Still, I'd like to learn if you're willing."

It occurred to Harry that this could be part of what they were looking for. "Yeah I could teach you." He would take it over with Alec first, but if he were to teach Sirius wherever he lived, it could be the perfect opportunity for Alec to work on cracking the data disk they had retrieved from the Breeding Cult. Of course that assumed that wherever Sirius lived was near someplace that actually had electricity.

"So what were you two doing here today anyway?" Alec asked after a lull in the conversation.

"Actually we came to take the two of you on a tour of magical London. Given the time, maybe we can have lunch here and go this afternoon."

"That sounds good to me; it will be nice to get away from this castle."

So a short while later, the four of them left the infirmary to go and have lunch in the great hall before leaving for London.

**August 3rd, 2006**

_**London, UK**_

It had been close to a week since he had learned the location of 494 and 701. Since that discovery, Ames had begun having Richards cast the locator spell daily to ensure that the two transgenics didn't escape him. Every day came back with the same result, the pair was staying at Hogwarts, and they had apparently made no effort to leave. Not fully trusting Richards and his magic, Ames had also stationed some men in Hogsmeade outside of the school and yet there had been no sighting so they had not left the grounds of the school.

So, today he was meeting with one of the surviving Breeding Cult families. It was humiliating that he had to ask them for help. The only thing that kept Ames from shooting the man and wiping out his entire family was the knowledge that once the 494 and 701 were dead he would be doing exactly that. The traitorous families had been allowed to live for long enough; their betrayal would no longer be ignored.

So it was that Ames White and Jonathon Richards found themselves in a small brightly lit restaurant just off of Diagon Alley. It was still early in the day, just after 11am and thus few people were present yet. On the table in front of him was a goblet filled with a disgustingly sweet concoction that he was told was pumpkin juice, apparently a favored drink in the wizarding world.

Ames was growing frustrated when after fifteen minutes the man they were to meet had yet to show up. Finally, after another ten minutes, he and Richards stood up to leave when they were approached by an aging wizard.

"My apologies gentlemen for keeping you waiting. I was unavoidably detained." Despite the man's words, there was no apology in his voice. He had made them wait simply because he could.

Ames White gritted his teeth and nodded, accepting the apology at face value and sat back down after gesturing to a chair for the man to sit as well. "It is quite alright."

The man was tall with deep brown hair and hazel eyes. His face was rather sallow and he bore a somewhat sickly look. Ames found himself mentally sneering at how quickly the British families had fallen if this was the product of their breeding activities.

"I must say, I was surprised to be contacted by you. We cut our ties with you long ago."

"Yes, be that as it may, we require your assistance. Though you and the other families were allowed to live following your betrayal our mercy does not come without a cost."

The man, Titus Nott, stared at the two men like they were bugs to be stepped on. "Do you think we are ignorant of our history? We know you would have acted already if you were ever going to. You're too afraid of exposing yourselves; you'll never achieve true power as long as you are afraid to wield what you already possess. So tell me why should I help you?"

Ames leaned back in his chair, his shoulders slumping in apparent defeat. Let the man think he was safe, it would make the cleanup that much easier. "There are two young wizards from the United States that have found out about our activities. Unfortunately, they were able to take refuge in the wizarding world before we were able to eliminate the threat. As to why you would help us, the answer to that is simple, revenge. One of the wizards we are after is Harry Potter."

"What?!" Titus exclaimed more loudly than he intended. His mind was reeling, for years now the shade of Voldemort had been roaming around waiting until Potter was captured so that his blood could be used to give him a new body. The blood of any enemy would work but Voldemort wanted to use Potter's blood to pay him back for his earlier defeat. "Where is he? I want him. You can have the other one but Harry Potter is mine!" He said fiercely.

"Sorry, his fate has already been sealed. He and his friend managed to disrupt an initiation rite. For that insult, they are to be bled dry after we have some fun with them first."

"No, I need him or at least his blood. You can have him afterwards."

"Why?" Ames was curious now. This was more than simple revenge. It was clear that Titus wanted 701's blood for something. Did they know about the virus? Maybe they hoped to create a cure from 701's blood.

Titus was rapidly losing the mask he wore to cover his emotions. Voldemort, even in his disembodied state would find some way to punish him if he allowed Harry Potter to escape him. Yet in the end, he hoped that at a minimum the man would be content enough to get his body back that he would overlook the fact that the boy was given over to others. Despite that, he would have a place at Voldemort's side. None could question his standing with the Death Eater's.

"Well find someone else to help us if you're not going to tell me what you're after." Ames said bluntly. It was amazing how fast the man had turned from a condescending snob into an eager sycophant. At this rate, the man would be begging Ames to allow him to help.

"Fine, the Dark Lord Voldemort is still alive. He wants the boy's blood to use in a ritual that would return him to a physical body. If you give me some of his blood, I don't care what you do with him afterwards."

Part of Ames marveled at the fact that Voldemort was still alive and could apparently be returned to his body. Obviously, whoever helped him to do so would receive some reward which was probably why Nott was suddenly being so accommodating. Still from what he had read, Voldemort was an extremely powerful wizard and he wasn't sure he wanted to revive a potentially lethal enemy.

While Ames was considering the implications, Richards took the lead. "If that's all you need, we can give you some of his blood now. He was foolish enough to come to one of our health centers so we have a good size sample."

Ames was boiling; Richards had no authority to make such a claim. Yet he couldn't call him out without weakening their position. For his part, Titus practically jumped at the opportunity to get the sample of 701's blood, even going so far as to offer his pledge to help secure the boy.

The trio spent some time talking about the defenses of Hogwarts and the likelihood of snatching the two young transgenics from the grounds. Nott was convinced that it would be best to wait until the school year started so that the children could be used as spies and to prepare things on the inside. In the meantime, Voldemort would be reborn and could bring his considerable power to bear and in Nott's mind, protect him from any retaliation planned by the Breeding Cult.

Once a tentative agreement was reached the men quickly parted company. Even if they were going to work together there was no trust between them and most likely never would be. If not for a shared goal, there would never have been any accord reached.

Walking quickly, Ames and Richards returned to the apartment Ames was using as his base of operations. "What the hell do you think you were doing making that agreement?"

"I couldn't say anything there but we can never let them have either 494's or 701's blood. If Voldemort were to use it in this ritual, he might gain the same immunity. Instead, we give them the sample of some normal and make sure it is tainted with the pathogen."

Ames' anger melted away when he realized the possibilities. They would be able to use Voldemort and unless by some miracle he found a cure, after 18 to 24 months the man would be dead again. "Well done Richards but how do you know that anyone's blood will work?"

"I don't know what ritual they are planning to use but I imagine that it is simply the man's form of vengeance to use the blood of his enemy."

"For your sake, I hope you're right. If you're not and the ritual doesn't work this will blow up in our faces."

**August 5th, 2006**

_**London, UK**_

John Smith looked down at the two bodies; it would take a DNA test to confirm their identities. Fortunately, no one was likely to search too hard for a missing hotel clerk and bellhop. Unfortunately, for them, once they had confirmed the presence of X5-494 and X5-701 they didn't have any more information.

Once he and his team had arrived in the UK, it hadn't taken long to determine that the X5s had left Edinburgh. From there, the most likely destination was London, it being the largest city and therefore the easiest to disappear in.

It had been simple leg work that had found the hotel where the two had stayed for a time. Smith and his men had started at the center of the city and spiraled outward focusing on hotels first. Honestly, he found himself to be a little disappointed in the X5s so far. Everything they had done had been extremely predictable, up until their disappearance from the hotel. Since that time, there had not been a single sighting of them

Since learning of the disappearance of the X5s, he had called in additional forces. There were now close to 50 people scouring the area surrounding London for any sign or trace. As of yet, there had been nothing.

Unbeknownst to Lydecker, he had reached out to the criminal community on reaching London. His biggest fear had been that the X5s would escape into the wizarding world. Unlike Lydecker, he did not underestimate these people. So while Lydecker waited to see if he could entice someone to give him information, Smith was reaching out to the criminal element. The ones for whom money was always the biggest motivator. If it worked, he would have an inside track into the wizarding world and X5-494 and X5-701 would have no place to hide.


End file.
